Krishnan Guru-Murthy, aka @krishgm, walks you through the first steps to get on to Twitter. Click play to launch the video.

What is Twitter?

A micro-blogging service which allows you to post one-line updates (also known as tweets). Each one can be no longer than a text message.

Why do we use it?

It's fast, fun and friendly. It lets us throw out titbits of breaking news, newsroom gossip and links to items of interest pretty much in real time.

It's also becoming increasingly useful for newsgathering and opinion-gauging - rapid response from our followers can generate useful tips and gives us a good idea of what people are interested in, or not.

How do I get started?

The short answer: go to www.twitter.com and sign up for an account. Follow channel4news, and ideally, the rest of the Channel 4 News family. Read our updates.

Tweet back in response: if you want us to read a Tweet, start it off @channel4news. If you want to pass one of our messages on to your followers, preface it RT @channel4news then copy and paste our message.